Variety (Nov 1945)

Wednesday, November 7, 1945 P&RIETY PICTURES S CHI NOW MOOD OF 161 Ohio's Vagaries and Other Censorial Attitudes Cue Possible Bluenose Wave A two-day delay in the okay of* "Blithe Spirit" in .Ohio; the present tabu on Paramount's forthcoming "Lost Weekend," in the same stale: the periodic ructions in Tennessee (especially Memphis) over colored pix with colored talent, and the like, are looked upon significantly within the industry as a possible repeat oC what happened post-World War I. The great wave of bluenose re- form, supposedly in the interest of the common weal, brought in Pro- hibition in .1919, and the bluenose. element hopped on "Weekend" for the same reason. Technically, the Ohio fllrri censorship doesn't cover any plot provisos, and if the theme of this Par picture treats'with alco- holism, the distributors don't dispute that, but challenge wherein lies Ohio's privilege to rule on . a plot idea. ■■ '■■ . As;' regards "Blithe" (Rank-UA). the woman censor«had to call in the Director of Education of the State of Ohio fpr hii opinion whether the plot..which treats with a ghost in an intimate boudoir scene, was censor - able. After two days it was ruled okay. ■— Chi's Tabus Chicago, Nov. 6.- Three B-pix anil a short were judged unsuitable for presentation in Chi film houses .and, "as" ~a "conse- quence,.were rejected during Octo- ber, according to monthly recapitu- lation of their activities < made last week by Chi's police motion picture censor board. .The features are "Race Suicide" and "Sinful Souls." reissue .rights of whick are-held for . this area by Al Dezel Roadshows. Inc., and "Scandal." Variety Pic Skouras, Century Still Stalemated on Par Deal Continuing to pick up anything it can in order - to flit out booking space, including reissues and re- peats, the Skouras and Century cir- cuits (New York) are no nearer to a deal with Paramount than they were several- weeks ago when the Brandt chain, finally giving in, signed up for this company's prod- uct. As of Monday (5) the situation be- tween Par. on the one* hand, and the Skouras-Cehfury organizations; on the other, was status quo, with neither side apparently inclined to yield. • ■• . . Inability of Par to negotiate a deal with the "Skouras and Century cir- cuits dates <from the beginning of the 1944-45 season a year ago this fall. . Columbia Pics' 50% Stock Divvy Columbia Pictures on Monday (.5) declared a stock dividend of 50% on its common stock, payable Dec. 29, 1945. to stockholders of record at the close of business Dec. 14. 1945. Cash will be paid where fractional shares of common stock are due. Increased activity has been noted in Columbia trading for,the.past six tures. "Juke Box Follies" (also Dc- I months attributed' in part to the at- zel) is the two-reelcr spurned by the tention altraefed to the company by board. < > '.' I the release of several hit pics. In Censors made only one cut in over the last seven days 5.700 shares of four pix viewed, according lo Lieut. Timothy Lyne, head of the bureau. There were 26 cuts made fr o m the 107 pi*. (430.00( M fecH re- viewed. . . ... Universal Adding Another Big Indie < An important producer is nego- tiating with Universal to join its growing roster of indie units. Details not set, hence very q.t. Like Mark Hellinger, the latest to align with U, this 'producer was for- merly with a major studio and is already set up on his own. but .plans shifting his distribution over to Uni- versal. . V Toppers Heading Home London, Nov. -6. Practically all of Universale for* eign execs, plus prexy Nate Blum- berg, loft here Saturday (3V aboard the^Que,cn Mary en route to the Accompanying Blumberg are J. Cheever Cowdin, chairman or U's board of directors; Joseph H. Seidel- man, export head; Matty Fox and Charles D. Prutzman. Ship is ex- pected to dock in N. Y. Friday (9). See Fred Mohrhardt As New Treasurer at Par Fred Molnhardt, comptroller of Paramount for many years, is ex- Pect ed to b e named treasurer of 'th e .company, succeeding the late Wal- ter B. Cokell. who died in Bionx- ville, N. Y., Oct. 16, under circum- stances suggesting suicide. Probable that Mohrhardt will be officially announced for the post al the next meeting of the Par board on Nov. 29. Though Cokell carried the title of treasurer, Mohrhardt in recent years has been carrying most Pf the load of 'that office and is very highly, regarded within Par. Cokell died in a hospital following an overdose of sleeping tabids. Reagan's Coast Quickie - Charlie Reagan, Paramount's sales v.))., quickies to the Coast this weekend for 10 days! :..'" A . ' Wants to o.o. the new product. common stock were traded aiicl the stock closed Monday on: the New York board at 38. a new high. Six rnonths ago it was<22. ' Columbia celebrates its 25th fSil- Jver Anniversary) next year and to- day finds itself in an extremely favorable position financially and in production resources. Its success story is also reflected in the earn- ings 'stockholders have received since improved product and in- creased volume of sales have raised the common stock dividends. On April 1. 1938, stockholders re- ceived a 25c dividend, and the next payment was in 1942 when, on Dec. 4, the stock paid 50c per share. This rate has been maintained for the past four years and Ihe last pay- ment of a 50c per share dividend was made on Sept. 22, 1945. 'Wonderful Life' Brings Stewart Back to Pix Hollywood. Nov. 6. James Stewart will resume screen acting for the first time since his re- lease from the Army in "It's a Won- derful Life." to be made for RKO release by Liberty Films, starting Feb. 1. Picture will be produced and directed by Frank Capra. who is returning to show business after lour years in the Army. . "Life." adapted from "The Great- est Gift." will ne screenplayecl by Albert Hackett and Frances Good- Irich. Liberty Films is a new indie I combination comprising Capra. Wil- liam Wyler and Samuel Briskin. But It Happened to Him Hollywood. Nov. 6. . Bryan Foy draws producer'reins on "It Shouldn't Happen, to a Dog." purchased last week by 20th-Fox. Mystery yarn, with a comic angle, was'authored by Edwin. Lanham as a serial for Collier's. ; Speaks Aides Whitney Hollywood. Nov. 6. Jock Whitney will have (lie as- sistance of Lt. Col. . John Speaks in his-new post as motion picture con- sultant for the State Dept. _ ' He was formerly associated with I Whitney, Meriaii C. Cooper and John Foid in independent produc- tion aiicl during the war was on the General Start overseas. BONANZA FOR THESPS, MODELS ■"'.. -. Chicago, Nov. 6. Just as talent is riding the gravy train in the radio transcription field, so also are performers here clean- ing up heavy dough by appearing in 16-mm. productions for compa- nies like Wilding, Atlas, Sarra, Pho- tosound, Francisco . Films, Burton Holmes, Jam Handy, Chicago Film Labs and Wesley Bowman—to name only a. few. The 16-mm'ers are to entertain- ment (or 35-mm) films precisely what electrical transcriptions are to the network shows—meaning little sisters—but that isn't to say that there isn't plenty of moola. as well as «pportunities to learn film tech- niques, floating around. To give an idea, speaking parts for anyone who wants.to appear in an opus extolling the virtues of Standard Oil, McMillan Fee'd, Swift's hams, Socony Vacuum. Sante Fe Railroad, . Pullman Co., White Trucks. Atlas Batteries, General Mo- rorsr Budd Manufacturing, and Studebaker.—again, to name only a few—pay anywhere from $50 to $100 a day. Minor speaking parts pay about $25. Extras gett $16.58. And that's for only a five- or six-hour day. During the war legit stars with road companies here were amazed to hear of the opportunities. offered them. Many of those approached, in fact, despite any possible hint of "disgrace" accruing to appearing in a commercial movie, made it a point to get up.at the crack of dawn anti get out to the studios to make train- ing films for the Armed Forces, etc.' Now, of course,with the large in- dustrial firms falling all over each each other to get advertising, em- ployee relation, and other such films matte, the field is wide open, and the producers are screaming for talent. Activity is centered in the mid- west, where most of the industries •are located. Chicago and Detroit, es- pecially, are buzzing with activity. Average spent for the films is about $100,000. although some accounts have spent and are spending as much as $500,000, and it's known (Continued on page 291 Walter Rcade Now a Daily Publisher in Asbury Park Walter Reade, head of the film circuit operating in New Jersey and New York, and John J. Quinn, for- mer U. S. attorney in N. J., will pub- lish a new daily newspaper in As- bury Park, N. J. Publication, with an initial run of 15,000, will start Dec. 15. ■ .V ". ' Harry M. Talmadge. editor and publisher of Red Bank (N.J.) Stand- ard, will be the publisher, and Mor- ris .Mogelever will act as managing editor. The daily will be standard size, about 32 pages, and cover As- bury Park and Monmouth Oounty territory. Pres. Truman Thanks Film Industry's War Work; Asks More Co-op Washington. Nov, 6. Film industry was thanked for its. war services last Thursday (1> in a letter from President-Truman read at a meeting of iiftlustry executives called by John.W. Snyder, Director of the Office of War Mobilization and Reconversion. Snyder asked the industry to eon- sidei its cooperation during the re- conversion period and announced the appointment of Frank L. McNanv'e' of Philadelphia, as special consult- ant. McNamee, who.has been in the distribution and exhibition, end of pictures for the past-quarter- centu- ry, was deputy chairman of the Win- Manpower Commission until recent- ly. He will serve as liaison between Snyder and .Hollywood' in the pro- duction and distribution of films needed by the Government. He will do on a smaller scale what the Domestic' Motion Picture Bureau til' OWI did during the war. - Snyder announced that Govern- ment information programs using motion picture media woulcf be " co- ordinated in his office. The Presi- dent's letter, Which -was sent- to Snyder:.' -.- "fn 'connection'with the itieiM.inr; Thursday with representatives of Mil branches'.of the molion picture in- dustry—Ihe theatres, the distributors, the producers—there is soiriethiny, you can do for me. ' "I . wish you would express my gratitude to the industry for the ex- traordinary service they renderci the Government during the period we were preparing for war and dui> ing the war itself.. This gratitude i.» shared by every responsible agency of the Government th.'t needed to obtain" the attention and understanding of the ■.■American (Continued on page 30) Peacetime Continuance of Films WAC Mapped by Si Fabian; DX. Probable HQ A peacetime variation of the War . Activities Committee of the Motion Picture industry is in process of formation. S. H. Fabian, chairman of the Victory Loan drive and head of the Fabian circuit announced Monday (5). Initial meeting of the new group will be held Dec. 5 in Washington, probably at the Statier hotef, when name of the new outfit will be selected and the program formally presented for consideration of exhibitors throughout the natian. Organization will attempt to han- dle those matters which originate from outside the industry. Purview of the group will take in legislation that affects films, either positively or adversely, will attempt to advise the Government on disposal of sur- plus government property which can be used by the industry; and Will. advise on the presentation and dis- tribution of government-sponsored films. In the latter department, the group will attempt to protect the exhibitor if excessive demands upon distribution time are made and will see that films are of good enough quality to warrant exhibition. New group will also seek to make the ex- hibitor's voice felt in reconversion matters. Movement to make WAC a per- manent oiiganization has been on the minds of WAC execs for some time, and was given impetus by Pres. Tru- , man's letter to. John JV. Snyder. Di- rector, of Reconversion', in which he praised the "extraordinary >service" (Continued on page 36 ) Jas. Roosevelt To Return to Films Hollywood, Nov; 6. James Roosevelt is returning to the'film industry next January and is not interested right now in efforts of his political friends to put him up as a candidate for governor or U. S. Senator from California in the next election. The late President's son announced that he is spending his time currently as executor of the Franklin D. Roosevelt estate. Meanwhile he is considering sev- eral offers in the picture industry and will make his decision before the first of the year. 20th and Loews Want Tele in NX 20th-Fox has abandoned its lease on a. proposed television station for experimental purposes in Boston. Instead, the company-has applied for a commercial license in New York and will enter the regular commer- cial video field, as soon as its-appli- cation for Channel- 5 is approved by the FCC.;. Programming plans for the new station, once the FCC okay is ob- tained, are still indefinite but with talk extant of plugging motion pic-' tures by .piping trailers into the home via video, it's likely that' Fox pix will get full coverage. Marcus Loew Booking Agency is also awaiting an FCC okay on its application for a commercial television station in New York. B&K's $500,000 Video Outlay in Chi Chicago, Nov. 6. Upwards of $500,000 will be spent by Balaban and Katz to make'tele- vision station WBKB the outstand- ing video outlet west of New York, according to Elmer C. Upton, genl. mgr. Emphasis in the moderniza- tion program will be placed upon studios, studio facilities and person- nel with purchase of the latest type equipment held up temporarily pending the final outcome of FCC frequency allotments. Under the direction of Capt. Wil- liam C. Eddy, recently discharged from the Navy, who resumed as ac- tive head • o"f the station, improve- ment of technique and personnel will be stiived for with stress laid on the lipping of quality and show- manship > of programs broadcast from the station. Toward this end several meetings-have already been arranged with all sponsors. Work- was started this week on a new horizontal . antenna atop the Stale-Lake building which will enable the station to increase its signal power and give ; receiving set owners ori th,e west side of the city a clearer image than before. Film Biz Believes Krug Not Interested in MPPDA ; Hollywood, Nov. 6. Belief how prevalent in' Holly- wood is that J. A. Krug is not in- terested in any. executive post with the motion Picture Producers & Distributors -of—America. The ' for- mer War Production Board chair- man failed to show up! over the weekend for confabs with a picture group and understood he's more re- ceptive to offers from Atlas Corp. and Publicker Corp. of Philadelphia. : Former WPB chairman., however, has not officially turned down the profcrrcd post with the MPPDA. Ors Welles' Own Unit Hollywood. Nov. (I. Releasing deal for a series nl pic- ture.-.- to be made by Orson Welles i.^ now being arranged by John Hyde of the William Morris office. Welles would direct and act in own productions, and incepts fiew indie venture upon completion of 'The Stranger" for International. Trado Mark rieglstereif FOUXDED B7 SISIB SIUVEP.MAN ruhlMirtl WteUlg by VAKIF.TV, Inc. bid Silverman, President 154 West 4Glh St., Now Yavlt 10. N. T. INDEX VICTORY LOAN25 Bills :. 59 Chatter .. . ....:...' 34 Film Reviews... ..........., 25 Foreign ..v 15 House Reviews,'... ;.......... 29 Inside Legit................ 62 -Inside Music. ...... 50 Inside Orchestras , 50 Inside Radio.,............. ; . 49 Legitimate / ... . . . ... . . .. 60 Literati i.'.:.....-.-•.':,, ,.-'63: Music. : . ,.. .. . ..-. 50 New Acts....... ,., 59 NiKhl Club Reviews.,. 53 Obituary .....'... . •..... 63 Orchestras 50 Pictures ■.,',........ . :■•■.. . .. 3 Radio ... '39 Radio Reviews; .J 40 Frank Scully..;..'..:.:;;...,. 2 Television ;'.; . . '; . '... . . .44 VauckviUc ... 56 D.VII.V VAI-.-.K.TTf (TuhliJlied In' Hi.Ilyivr.nfl by Mally Varle.y. 1.1.1. i tiO ■ Tear—51: Fnrelisn